Cool Coops! – Recycled Counter Coop

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It seems that this time of the year a lot of time is spent in the kitchen… Whether it’s preparing Thanksgiving dinner or just spending time with family and friends–everyone always gravitates to the warmth and comfort of this room. I doubt that many of you ever think of a potential chicken coop hidden within the kitchen, but this month’s featured chicken keeper, Michele Shekey, did! She took an abandoned kitchen cabinet and re-purposed it into a functional (and cheap) coop for her small backyard flock!

Continue reading as Michele describes the discovery and transformation of her recycled counter coop!

Fortunately for us .. Memphis is the dumping capital for junk.When driving to a feed store to see if they had pre-made coops (just to get an idea what they went for before we spent 100’s of dollars making one), I looked over and noticed a pile of junk laying in a parking lot. I thought, dang this might work. We threw the counter in the truck along with a ton of wood dumped too. For only $100, we purchased the tin roofing, a few 2 x 4s for the run and some chicken wire. Everything else was recycled including the exterior paint! The nesting boxes are in the cabinet under the countertop– easy access for gathering their eggs! Above this cabinet is a storage area.

I have to give all the credit to my dear hubby and my son.. They Rock!-Michele Shekey

Thanks Michele for sharing your special coop with the readers of Community Chickens! Click on the link below for previous entries in the “Cool Coops!” series…Cool Coops!

Do you have a “Cool Coop” you’d like to share?Email me at: RNickols@communitychickens.comTo view what else is happening at our Southwest Missouri property visit the garden-roof coop

An open letter to anonymousDear sir or madom to describe you as a HORSES HEAD would be anitomicly incorrect. You totaly condem this idea without knowing if they have 2 hens or 200 hens. They may only have 2 and free range their hens and only use this as refuge. All sugestions to improve this or any other idea I believe are taken into account. They may after putting their birds in decide the run is too small. They might enlarge their flock and hustle up more cabinets. The winter weather might encourage them to heat or insolate. I feel sorry for you. I can only imagine how unhappy you must be. Rich

Don’t worry about the comment on the roof direction. I have a rabbit cage for years now with a roof like that, and it works fine. Just make sure it slopes slightly to one side or the other so water can run off to the side where you don’t mind it coming down.

I really liked your creativness! Good job hubby and son. If you want even more of a run could you just lift the whole structure on more blocks. Dont know how much they cost but a lot of people find recyled ones 😉

Thanks for the great idea! I love recycle/reduce/reuse ideas, and $100 for a great little coop is fantastic. Pretty inventive to see an old cabinet and think “chicken coop!”. I would never have taken a second look–but I will now!

I enjoy seeing articles on using materials all from recycled things. I have 2 chicken tractors made from counters. I use them for young ones that are to old for brooders yet still could get picked on by the adults. One right know has a hen and her 5 young ones. The other has some 4 month old ones in it and it has been toasty warm for them. Believe me it been cold here with a few days only in the low thirties and some nights in the teens. The big thing with chickens is they need a place to get out of the wind. One of my coops house my Chanteclers and they have a coop made with texture one eleven and had no problems what so ever. I would not keep my chickens with large combs in there though.

We all have to think outside the box and recycling materials which saves landfill and our pocketbooks is the way to go. My first coop was inside a 2 car garage (used as a sheep barn). They had free range outside on warmer days and in the winter I would let them roam inside the barn with the sheep – picking through the litter looking for seeds etc. It let them stretch their legs. Its true chickens can do well in the cold (as long as combs don’t freeze) but do worse in windy conditions so providing wind proofing is the most important. We have upgraded since those days 30 years ago with an l8x12 insulated Amish shed but we can afford more at this stage than we could when we first started out and we have 40 hens now too.

I was born & raised in Memphis. It does get pretty chilly here but what Michele and her family have DIY’d is a sustainable example of urban farming. What would we use a kitchen cabinet for, if not for pots, pans and a pantry? She just fast forwarded the pantry part of that process! Ha~! Love it. Keep these ideas coming.

Wonderful idea! Some people live with their heads in the sand. They didn’t even have insulation in the houses back in the 1700’s & 1800’s. Chickens & people survived then without it. Give credit for the idea not what you think should be.

I think your coop is a very nice way to recycle. My barn for my goats is made from wooden pallets with tarps on the side for a wind breaker. However on your coop if you have more than 2 full grown chickens later on you might want to ad a bigger run to the hutch. The space you have now will only hold 2 comfortably. Great job on the coop and as you expand your flock you can always expand your run too or build another for a different breed. 🙂

well, my grandparents raised chickens in the mountains of WV & I know it gets colder there. There was no insulation, etc. for the chicken coup & they never lost a chicken [unless it was an extra rooster for a meal]. How do you think chickens were raised in the 1700’s or 1800’s in the northern climates? Most of the houses back then didn’t even have insulation. Chickens have their own insulation when they fluff their feathers. what about the birds that live in the trees?

Except for the Anonymous Grouch, I agree with the other chicken herders. It was a good idea to re-purpose those cabinets. Wood is wood, and shelter is the main thing.A small coop concentrates the clucks body heat, so as long as they’re eating well, you don’t have to worry about the Memphis cold weather. It only got down to around 40°F during the winter I was there (1973); and with much needed global warming, its got to be better now.

I just love it too!!!! Wish I could use something like that up here in Vermont… I would have to insulate it for the chickens cause I couldn’t watch them being out there in the cold without it. Would have been nice to see how you completed the inside though.

What a great way to recycle!!!!!!!!!!! Iv’e been reading and searching for easy, cheap ways to make a coop. I know this is a wonderful idea! I live in Pa. and it gets really windy here at our place in winter, spring, fall, spring!!lol..you never know what you’ll get..lol..I’m thinking of making a coop that is part underground so the flock will be safe in a severe storm. Perhaps a sandbag coop. What do you think?? My property sloops downhill.

Thanks for all the comments! What I love about this series is that it showcases a lot of creative and energetic folks! If you do decide to undertake a DIY coop, it’s always great to see visual examples of what others have done.–Then you can take what you like, change what you don’t–tweak it to fit your needs! Most of us aren’t architects or carpenters, we’re just chicken keepers on a budget! Constructive criticism is great, but praise and encouragement needs to go out to all recyclers and DIYers!

I think its a FANTASTIC reuse for a small flock! I have no idea how anyone could think this coop is substandard – they have shelter from the elements, protection from predators, and a run. If chickens had it their way they’d be roosting in trees exposed all year round. My grandmother’s chickens rarely if ever stayed in their coop (her garage) even in the middle of winter – they only used it for laying and brooding. I love seeing all the creative things people make into coops! My first coop for 6 hens was a curb-rescued mower shed – better a home for chickens than in a landfill.

Great job there and to the negative people out there get a life. If she wants to always can add a heat lamp. But she may not need too. I live in Southern IL and mine perfer to set in the barn not a coop and no that barn is not warmer and they have a really nice 12 by 12 coop with heat lamps. They do what they want and I never lost a bird in the winter. You need to give chickens more credit on winter temps. They survive just fine given access to wind free area with feed. Even in really cold winters.

I agree with Kristi. We can’t all afford expensive structures. Some of the rabbit-hutch style coops sold via catalog, at Tractor Supply, etc. are FAR less insulated than this coop. Ventilation, adequate bedding, attention to combs, and good breed selection (I think I see a cold-hardy Buff Orpington?) are keys to making a coop work. It is so, so discouraging to see how many nasty people raise their voices online. Please give it a rest if you only intend to hurt, not support and assist others.

Great job reusing the cabinets! I think it’s great that you thought outside the box, saved it from the landfill, and saved money on it! We have also used a lot of re-purposed building materials in our coop and enclosure, and our chickens are fat and happy. I see no need to buy a new, expensive coop when the chickens are just as happy (spoiled) in a creatively re-purposed house.

Thank you for your idea Michele!Wow! I CANNOT believe that you people are behaving like this toward someone who simply showed how they had Enocouraging someone to correct something that you see as a potential problem with a coop is one thing but bashing is another!If you don’t have something nice to say or can’t say it in a nice way–KEEP IT TO YOURSELVES!

Wow, people need to start the day with a cup of coffee! First, I think it is a clever use of materials that might otherwise be discarded. I agree that the roofing would be better channeling water the other direction but it isn’t going to hold any water on the roof so it’s fine. Up on blocks is good too although I do agree that some sort of insulation/double wall would be a good idea if you can swing it. A sheet of styrofoam insulation is not overly expensive but it does need to be covered. If you leave it exposed your chickens will pick it to pieces. If you have just a couple of chickens, this is a good size. Mine have been able to roam about so I can’t speak to the size of the yard you’ve provided.

I disagree that this coop is adequate for poultry. I don’t know that Memphis is particularly cold in the winter, but I feel sorry for the chickens that would have to put up with living in this horrible coop. Its nice to save and re-use, but not at the expense of our animals when the re-purposed item is not up to standards for what our poultry should live in. I think you go too far in recommending substandard living quarters for poultry.

Memphis is not that cold. I am from Memphis. Chickens don’t mind cold. They dislike wind. They can stay warm in their feathers as long as their combs and feet don’t freeze. A structure around them holds in their body heat. Mine live in a Rubbermaid top under a tarp.

Koatree: It’s always great anytime something can be re-purposed instead of ending up in a landfill!The $100 price was for all additional supplies (not just the roof)–which is a great price for a coop!The coop is elevated on concrete blocks which keeps the cabinet off the ground…

You paid too much for the roofing and it was installed in the wrong direction; the ribs should channel the water down and not sideways. The wood is in contact with the ground inviting termites. You did save a cabinet from the landfill however, good job!